Big 12 takes its league, honors races into final week of men’s basketball season
A week remains in the Big 12 men’s basketball season, and the championship drama could last until the final game.
Saturday’s outcomes keep the conference race open for four teams, with Kansas State and Texas Tech leading at 12-4, Kansas third at 11-5 and Baylor fourth at 10-6.
Iowa State remained in the hunt until losing at Texas on Saturday, but the Cyclones (9-7) will have a say in who finishes first.
With two games remaining for all teams, here’s a look at how the championship chase and other races could play out:
First place: Every team in the Big 12 finishes with a home and road game. The only matchup between the top four teams is Saturday, when Baylor visits Kansas.
If the leaders hold serve at home and it comes down to road games — K-State visits TCU on Monday, KU goes to Oklahoma on Tuesday and Baylor and Texas Tech are visitors Saturday, with the Red Raiders at Iowa State — the Wildcats could have the edge. They own the Big 12’s best road record.
We know this: The race could be undecided entering the conference’s final game of the regular season, Kansas State’s home contest against Oklahoma on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Wildcats last finished first in 2013, when they shared the championship with Kansas. Their last outright title was in the Big Eight season of 1977.
Texas Tech’s last championship came in 1996, the final year of the Southwest Conference. Baylor hasn’t finished first since 1950.
Prediction: Kansas’ 14-year streak of winning or sharing the Big 12 championship will end — not because the Jayhawks lose, but because Kansas State and Texas Tech win out and share the title.
Player of the year: KU coach Bill Self was right when he said last week nothing has been decided here. And it remains true after the this weekend’s games. The leading candidates are Kansas’ Dedric Lawson, Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver and Kansas State’s Barry Brown, and the choice might be as simple as best player on the first-place team.
Lawson leads the Big 12 in scoring (19.0) and rebounding (10.4), and throughout the league’s history, that’s been an automatic player of the year choice. Five times the leader in those categories was named player of the year: Kansas’ Drew Gooden (2002) and Wayne Simien (2005), Texas’ Kevin Durant (2007), Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (2008) and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (2009). They also were consensus All-America selections.
But the award hasn’t always gone to the top player on the title team. Five Jayhawks have been named player of the year during their championship streak.
Brown gets it done on both ends, leading the top team in scoring at 15.1 points per game and the Big 12 in steals at 2.0.
Culver has been terrific all season and is the only player ranked among the league’s top 11 in scoring (17.9), rebounds (6.2), assists (3.7) and steals (1.6).
It also may come down to who has the best final week, or even game.
Prediction: Give it to Tech’s Culver, who delivered one of his best games in a huge moment: 26 points in the Raiders’ home victory over Kansas.
NCAA Tournament seeding: A top seed seems out of reach for a Big 12 team, but a No. 2 seed could be available for a K-State, Tech or Kansas if one of those teams wins out and captures the Big 12 Tournament. Only once in the league’s 22-year history has one of its teams not been a top two seed.
Also, the Big 12 could land up to eight teams in the 68-team field (all but Oklahoma State and West Virginia). Teams closest to the bubble — Texas, TCU and Oklahoma — have resume-building opportunities this week, each with a game against a top-three team.
The Big 12 has advanced seven to the tournament in four of the past five years. Eight would be a high-water mark for the league.
Prediction: Give the Big 12 eight to the NCAA. Make Kansas and Texas Tech No. 3 seeds, Kansas State a No. 4.
Remaining regular-season schedule
Kansas State (12-4)
Monday, at TCU, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, Oklahoma, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
Texas Tech (12-4)
Monday, Texas, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, at Iowa State, 1 p.m. (ESPNews)
Kansas (11-5)
Tuesday, at Oklahoma, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, Baylor, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Baylor (10-6)
Wednesday, Oklahoma State, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, at Kansas, 1 p.m. (ESPN)